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Tag Archives: bookmobile

Why Erma?

20 Tuesday Apr 2010

Posted by Jane Bretl in Motherhood, Writing

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

bookmobile, Darrelyn Saloom, Erma Bombeck, Erma Bombect Writing Workshop

“Why Erma?” someone asked.

Erma Bombeck was the first humor writer that I ever read.  As a kid, when I had exhausted the stack of books from the summer bookmobile, I would browse through the house for reading material.  There on the living room bookshelf, near the Reader’s Digest Condensed versions and the set of encyclopedias, stood several Erma books in various stages of dogearedness.  The paperback that stands out in my mind is “The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank.”  I used to think the title meant something like “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”, but later, as I contemplated the uncanny ability of septic tanks to either green up a lawn in no time, or kill the grass completely, the title had great depth.

Or it is entirely possible that I over-thought that book title.  I had a lot of time on my hands.

To me, the wonder of her humor is this:  I was a 10 year old kid who had never lived in a suburb.  Erma’s world of grown-up responsibilities and tedium and frustrations and joys — that was not my world.  Yet her situations were so comically real and her descriptions so universal that somehow I understood how she felt.  And I would laugh out loud.

I forgot about Erma for many years.  Then, staying in a vacation house on Marco Island, I found a bookshelf filled with an eclectic mix of titles, the kind of collection that grows from people leaving a book and taking a book as they come and go.  I spotted Erma there on the shelf and started to read, and I laughed out loud.  I watched my own kids race around and bicker and joke and I saw my family, and I smiled.

A recent comment from the wonderful writer Darrelyn Saloom sums it up for me:

…I adore Erma Bombeck. Her column and books were a housewife’s drug before anti-depressants. I never needed ‘em. I had Erma to fire up those synapses in my brain.

As I listened to writer after writer share their stories at the conference, women and men, I heard so many experiences that mirrored my own.  As children themselves, they also related to her humor.  And here I thought I was the only pre-tween who found these books funny even though the setting was on another planet.

Yet, funny or not, I must admit that Erma’s world in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio served as a cautionary tale to me as a kid.  I had no aspirations to be a Midwestern housewife, or a stay at home mom.  In fact, I spent a long time running in the opposite direction.  But, as I learned from reading Erma’s stories long ago,  life is funny.  The winding paths of the years can even land an unsuspecting girl in suburban southwestern Ohio, not 30 miles from where Erma’s septic tank was fertilizing the lawn as she raised a couple kids.  I have found myself in an unforeseen life, one I never dreamed could make me happy.

But this life does make me happy.  Thanks, Erma, for finding the funny in everyday situations, and sharing the stories.  Now I can see that being a mom can be the most noble profession of all.  Even in the ‘burbs.  Writing about it sounds good too.

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biblioburro

04 Monday May 2009

Posted by Jane Bretl in good reads

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

biblioburro, bookmobile, books

I have a warm spot in my heart for the bookmobile of my youth.  To me, it was a rolling candy store, a literary ice cream truck without the canned music and creepy tattooed guy handing out melted treats.  Just a nice lady with loads of books.  Yum!

This quiet video made me smile, with the story of one man and his mission to bring books to even the most remote areas of Columbia.

Luis Soriano has two donkeys, 4800 books, and what must be a big heart.  Biblioburro, a truly off-road bookmobile.  Because every child needs books to read, and someone to read to them.

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bookish

16 Monday Mar 2009

Posted by Jane Bretl in good reads, Motherhood, seasons

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

bookmobile, books, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, reading

My fascination with books started early; in the summers of the 70’s, I would look forward to the bi-weekly visits of the Bookmobile to my tiny Wisconsin town.  I guess it was literary outreach for the distant corners of the county with no library branches.  (Do bookmobiles even still exist?)

This beloved bookmobile would park in the bank parking lot a short walk from my house.  I can picture the inside of that Rolling Bus of Books as clearly as any other memory of my childhood.  In retrospect, it is amazing how many pounds of books a 57 lb. girl could carry home by herself.  The titles themselves aren’t as clear in my memory;  I read so many books, back to back, that they eventually became onelongsummerstory.

It is possible that I should have spent more time playing outside with real people.

Fast forward to another century, and my fascination for children’s books has not faded.  Before my kids were born, I was collecting books for read-alouds and looking-throughs.  Books that had received the Caldecott Medal for Illustration always seemed like a good place to start.  Then started the early readers and beginning chapter books.  Soon, I was collecting Newbery Medal winners and Newbery Honor Books.  Oh, the world of YA novels!  There is a great list of award winning titles here, including 1922-present.  Of course, sometimes I will pick out children’s books simply because the title, or the cover art, or the subject will jump to be chosen.  Many of our most-thumbed copies have no award other than “Our Favorites”.  There are so many organizations that recognize talented children’s book authors and illustrators;  peruse this list to see many more.  Buy books for kids!

My kid book library is now quite extensive.  I am so lucky and proud to have voracious readers of my own.  As they grow older, it is still a joy to share books with them, albeit in a new way (they read the book first, then recommend it to me).  Someday we will have to decide which books they want to keep for their own libraries, and which ones we will donate.  Or, maybe, I could be the little old lady driving my own bookmobile…?

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jane, candid

In 2009, I started this blog to share my sometimes thoughtful, sometimes funny, occasionally irreverent thoughts on motherhood, writing for publication and myriad creatures that got along as cats and dogs.

One day, I felt like stepping away from living out loud for awhile. Eh, life happens.

Fast forward five years -- I'll gloss over the details for now -- save to say that lucky for me an unexpected detour has provided some new material.

So here I am, standing at the corner. I've been here before, wondering which way to go. This time I choose living.

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